Experienced and qualified staff - the course is managed by an internationally experienced and qualified arborist who is also an experienced and qualified teacher. She is also a working arboricultural consultant with 20 years’ experience. The other lecturers and guests speakers are also experts in their fields.

Student focused support –tutorials in the form of emails, telephone calls, Skype, optional face to face workshop days and meetings are critical in supporting students in achieving qualifications – it’s at the heart of my course management style. Dyslexic? We can help.

Approved Centre Status - course is delivered by a centre that has been approved by government recognised awarding bodies that hold arboricultural courses as part of their suite of specialist qualifications (ABC Awards and LANTRA).

Passion - we are passionate about arboriculture and education, and the company is dedicated to providing quality, industry-ready education by arborists for arborists. We believe in our products and aim to provide a quality course with quality student support and a valuable, useable product for students on graduation.

Student testimonials

Why choose ABC qualifications over others?

Scarlet graduated in 2017 and said:

"I am so thankful I chose to do my ABC Level 4 diploma in Arboriculture with The Training Tree in the classroom taught course. Going into class each week gave me so much support and motivated me to work towards achieving the diploma, getting it done within a year. Time spent in the classroom helped me to fully understand the subject matter; Lisa Sanderson is a fantastic and experienced teacher and the guest tutors that teach aspects of the course are experts in their fields. The knowledge and insights that they share helps make the coursework much more manageable; as does the set deadlines and schedules given to work around. Additionally, the classroom course allowed me to meet and connect with many other industry professionals working towards their diploma, and the camaraderie that forms within the classroom certainly helped to spur me on to achieve my goals."

Industry recognised – the course is respected and recognised by the arboricultural industry, i.e. it would allow you to advance your career or get another job.

Accredited qualifications – you achieve an accredited qualification issued by a national awarding body, rather than a certificate of learning from a training provider.

Why the expense?

Competitive prices - current prices for our ABC level 4 diploma in arboriculture are in line with the pricing of our main competitors.

Tutorials – a considerable amount of time is spent guiding students through the learning process in tutorials (online, telephone, Skype and face to face). As staff are fully experienced and qualified, we offer relevant, quality support and advice.

Quality staff and venue - staff are qualified and experienced in the arboricultural industry and key staff have teaching qualifications and experience. The venue is an award winning 18th century landscape with a range of treed landscapes to learn within along with a professional lecture room. We also have field trips to places such as Richmond Park and Sir Harold Hiller's nursery and gardens.

Accredited course / Approved Centre status – diploma is accredited and approved by an independent awarding body (approved by a government body) and can only be delivered by Approved Centres. To keep our Approved Centre status we spend a significant amount of time annually carrying out strict administrative processes, procedures and quality control moderations. This allows us to offer government recognised, internationally recognised and industry recognised qualifications.

Online support - online learning requires tailored support for students – this means much more 1-1 support than the classroom. In classrooms, questions are answered once to large groups and students have other learning advantages such as discussions that arise and by learning from their peers. Online learning requires much more remote individual support and tutorial services to achieve quality qualifications.

Marking - large portfolio of work to be marked by tutors (often multiple times).

Evolved learning - we see the online and classroom course not as a static depository of documents but as an evolving and reactive learning resource with continual enrichment. It is a hub of information, whilst tutors provide support needed to achieve qualifications.

Check that you will receive sufficient support to achieve your qualification.

Check that the qualification is accredited by an industry accepted awarding body that regulates qualifications (e.g. ABC Awards, BTEC, LANTRA, City & Guilds or a reputable university, etc.).

Check the learning provider are Approved Centres of a suitable awarding body, which is independent from the learning provider and recognised by an industry body. The awarding bodies (e.g. ABC Awards, City & Guilds, BTEC, LANTRA, etc.) should accredit arboricultural qualifications particularly.